Thursday 3 May 2018

5-Star book review for The Flood at By The Letter Book Reviews

The Flood, Steven Scaffardi, Book Review, 5 Stars, Funny, Hilarious, Comical, Comedy, Laugh Out Loud, Chick Lit, Lad Lit,
This book review was originally posted on By The Letter Book Reviews on Sunday, May 5, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

5/5 Stars
The Flood is the second novel in the Sex, Love & Dating Disasters series. Even though it is the second in the series it actually works really well as a stand alone as the author covers quite a lot of what happens in the first book. I would still highly recommend reading the first though as it is extremely funny.

Reading about Dan and his friends, is like meeting up with your mates who you haven’t seen for awhile.

Poor Dan seems to go from one extreme to another. Going from not having any luck with women to all of a sudden having a flurry of them. It’s obvious that disaster isn’t far behind.

From the hilarious opening chapters all the way through to the end, I was literally howling. This really is such a hilarious read and probably enjoyed best reading it alone. Believe me trying to explain to someone who hasn’t read this book why your laughing, well, let’s just not go there. My family rolled their eyes at me on more than one occasion!

There are so many great characters which in real life I would think were idiots, but you can’t help but be drawn to them. I’m not sure if there’s any characters that I’m not supposed to really like but I honestly loved them all. You certainly can’t help feeling for Dan. He may be a total prat at times but he is a loveable one.

I honestly thought I knew how this story was going to go and had it all worked out in my head how it was all going to end. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong if I tried! Who knew a Lad Lit novel would hold something up it’s sleeve and have a few shocks and surprises in store? I certainly didn’t and it had the ending leaving me on a high, especially when I realised that this is not the end for Dan and his mates and more importantly for us readers, there is going to be another book!

The Sex, Love & Dating Disasters series has a laugh at both sexes and I think a lot of readers can relate to a lot of what goes on in the books, well as long as you weren’t a saint 😉

Many thanks to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday 1 May 2018

Book Review for The Drought (taken from By The Letter Book Reviews)

The Drought, Steven Scaffardi, Lad Lit, Chick Lit, Funny, Laugh Out Loud, Book, Paperback, Kindle, eBook, Kindle Unlimted,
This book review was originally posted on By The Letter Book Reviews on Tuesday, April 14, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

5/5 Stars
The Drought, as far as I’m aware is my first introduction to lad lit.

Just because it’s lad lit far from means that it is just for lads. If you love programmes like The Inbetweeners, you are going to love this novel.

The Drought for me is a great way to see the male side of love, life and relationships.

Dan who recently finds himself single, starts to miss the sex aspect of his life. As the book description says, it certainly isn’t from the lack of trying. Everything that could go wrong does go wrong when any chance of sex comes along.

Dan tries so hard to get laid. He just seems to be a walking disaster though and he doesn’t half get himself into some complicated situations. These situations are proper laugh out loud moments that, even though they made me cringe as he really can be a proper idiot at times, were just to funny not to get enjoyment from them.

After struggling for so long on his own he enlists the help of his friends. The weekend away that they arrange is just hilarious. The list of rules that they have to stand by is just something so typical of what you would expect from your stereo typical single male. There idea of chat up lines and how to treat women is just so cringeworthy yet it is so accurate to what mainly goes on in the clubs and pubs.

His work life can be just as bad as his personal life but again makes for a fun read. I love the relationship between Dan and work colleague, Kelly. The pair of them get on really well and have a good laugh and right from meeting Kelly I really wanted the pair of them to get together.

The Drought is a hilarious novel that I think would definitely make a belter of a movie or television show. Would certainly highly recommend this to both sexes who have a good sense of humour and are in need of something more light hearted.

Many thanks to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday 29 April 2018

All we are saying, is give lad lit a chance!

The Drought, Steven Scaffardi, Lad Lit, Comedy, Funny, Laugh Out Loud,
This guest post was originally posted on By The Letter Book Reviews on Monday, March 21, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

I often lay awake at night fretting over the choices I’ve made as an author. It is like some sort of literary insomnia; panic setting in as I toss and turn over the fact I have thrown all of my eggs into the lad lit basket, the frowned upon little brother of its more successful chick lit sibling.

I’m lying of course. I don’t really stay up all night because of my genre choices. I have an 11-month-old baby girl who keeps me up until the early hours. But she is super cute so I let her off.

I’m just trying to pull at your bibliophile heart strings. You see, I believe that lad lit is just misunderstood; a victim of a severe case of Chinese Whispers.

According to Wordspy.com, lad lit is: A literary genre that features books written by men and focusing on young, male characters, particularly those who are selfish, insensitive, and afraid of commitment.

That description wouldn’t exactly encourage me to read lad lit either.

But let’s not be too hasty here. If lad lit was a Hollywood movie genre, surely it would be a comedic triumph. Just take a look at some of the recent loveable rogues who fit that lad lit description: Stifler from American Pie, Phil from The Hangover, Seth from Superbad, Jay from The Inbetweeners. They all arguably steal the show in those respected films. They are not characters we love to hate, they are quite simply characters we love.

Maybe lad lit isn’t the right term to use. Perhaps there is already too much of a stigma attached to those two little words that evoke the wrong reaction in booklovers. Other variations of the genre don’t really do much help to the cause either: bro lit, bloke lit, geezer lit, fratire, dick lit.

Dick lit?!

No wonder it has a bad name, especially as I’m willing to guess that most readers would rather pick up a good thriller or crime novel before they even consider a book with the word ‘dick’ associated to the classification!

So let me try and build a case for lad lit.

Tony Parsons, Mike Gayle, Nick Spalding, Matt Dunn, Danny Wallace, Jon Rance. Call it what you like – romantic comedies, chick lit for men, funny books about relationships, laugh out loud novels, lad lit – they have all written brilliantly wonderful stories full of characters that reader’s fall in love with.

The one glaring omission from that list is of course Nick Hornby; the undisputed king of lad lit, multi-time best-selling author, a Bafta winner and two-time Oscar nominee! Here is a man who brought us Rob Fleming in High Fidelity; one of the greatest contemporary novels of our time. It is probably fair comment to say that Fleming was selfish, insensitive, and afraid of commitment, but we loved him nonetheless.

With that argument being made, I don’t think we should consider lad lit an unworthy genre. I think it encapsulates the category perfectly. Let’s not overcomplicate things – lad rhymes with lit, it sounds like chick lit, it is invariably books with a male protagonist exploring their emotions through love, friendship and adventure. Lad lit works.

With my Sex, Love and Dating Disasters series I make no bones about the style of my writing and the obvious lack of romance synonymous with chick lit. My books are about the fun side of dating and relationships. It’s about that car crash first date you still tell your friends about 10 years after it happened. It’s about that relationship that leaves you forever wondering what was I thinking? It’s about that fabulous roller coaster of experiences you have to go through before you meet the one, because long after you have had that HEA ending, those memories will stay with you and you’ll always look back with a smile.

For me, that’s what lad lit is really about. Women have long debated over a glass of wine or two how clueless men can be when it comes to romance; I just try to bring that to life in the pages of my books. I’ve had both men and women read and enjoy both The Drought and The Flood; many who have never even heard of or read a lad lit novel before. I interviewed Jon Rance recently and asked him if he thought lad lit would become as big as chick lit one day and he said:

“I don’t think so simply because the majority of readers are women. One of my biggest and luckiest breaks was working with an amazing and lovely editor at Hodder. We became good friends and still are. One of the first things she told me was that most of my readers were women. It made me realise that I wasn’t writing books for blokes like me, but women, who were not like me at all. You have to take this into account when writing. I don’t think lad-lit really exists because not enough men read it. This is why it’s so hard for men to tackle the world of romantic comedies. We’re at a disadvantage going in. There’s also a lot more women writing in this genre than men. But that doesn’t mean a handful of men can’t be successful.”

His response saddened me somewhat because I think with the right sort of publicity, lad lit is a genre that many more readers – both male and female – would enjoy immensely. That’s why I started #LadLitSunday, a social media initiative to highlight the great work being written by lad lit authors.

So next time you find yourself with a free Sunday and nothing to read, be sure to check out the hashtag, and you never know – you might just be pleasantly surprised with that selfish, insensitive, commitment phobe you’ve been trying so hard to avoid.

David's Book Blurg gives The Flood a 5-star book review!!

The Flood, Steven Scaffardi, Lad Lit, Chick Lit, Funny Book, Comedy Novel, Laugh Out Loud,
This book review was originally posted on David's Book Blurg on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

5/5 Stars
The Flood is the second novel in the Sex, Love & Dating Disasters series. If you haven’t already read my review of The Drought, check it out here.

We are back with Dan Hilles and his very unfortunate love life..If you haven’t read the first book don’t worry, the author weaves such a good story they work well as standalone tales.

If possible this book was even better than the first, for me it had more cringy moments where I found myself laughing on public transport.. at one point I even let out a little snort..not my finest moment I’ll admit.

The guys in the story are a very likeable bunch. I think the author really does give a true male perspective. Yes we can be tits sometimes but for the most part we mean no harm.. we just don’t use our brain as much as we should… and we can end up in some awkward situations just like Dan.

From the opening chapters and synopsis I thought I had a good idea what the direction the story would go in but with all the twists and turns the author throws in I literally had no idea what would happen next.. the only thing I knew for certain is that I had to keep reading.

One of the things I liked most in this book is we are introduced to some very weird and fun new characters… some were so unpredictable you just had to keep reading to see what they got up to next

If you read my reviews you’ll know I’m not one for spoilers.. but the ending blow me away.. didn’t see it coming a mile off and I’m eagerly looking forward to more from the author.

I definitely feel the characters have grown a little since the first book, although not very much ha ha they’re still the fun bunch of lads that had me laughing in The Drought.

Overall I felt this was a honest, funny and clever tale that pretty much anyone will enjoy.. how can you not 🙂

If you’re looking for a nice fun read then this is the series for you. It keeps you hooked and leaves you wanting more..

My thanks go to the author for the chance to read/review his work..it was my absolute pleasure

Thursday 26 April 2018

"I don’t think I’ve ever smiled as much or laughed as hard as I did reading this book" - David's Book Blurg reviews The Drought

The Drought, Steven Scaffardi, Lad Lit, Chick Lit, Funny Book, Comedy Novel,
This book review was originally posted on David's Book Blurg on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

5/5 Stars
First let me say this.. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled as much or laughed as hard as I did reading this book, multiple times a had to cover me face to stop the laugh coming out while on public transport.

This book follows Dan and his numerous disasters in the dating world. Although I felt for the guy I couldn’t help but laugh at the events that played out.

One of the best things about the book for me was that the author hit dead on with the events, so much so that it reminded me of my own life at points during my late teens/early twenties. I identified with the characters and could see a lot of my own friend’s personalities in Dan’s friends.

The book is well written and funny and is told at a good pace. I found myself getting to the end of a chapter and pausing to take in the events, chuckle some more and review the events that have played out in my own life

For me this was a very honest tale of a young man, recently single looking to get his end away, he’s not looking to hurt anyone and I’d like to think most men will identify with that.

Overall the book was brilliantly funny and spot on with the comedy, made up of funny events and some very cringy ones that will leave you with a smile on your face.

When I first heard about this book I did wonder if it was better suited to a male audience and thanks to my friend Sarah @ bytheletterbookreviews I’m very glad to say she found it just as funny as me. You can see her review here…. And I definitely agree with Sarah’s comment that this would a brilliant TV show

If you’re looking for a fun read this is definitely one to pick up! My thanks go to Steven for the opportunity to read/review the book.

I’m half way through the follow up book ‘The Flood’ and can tell you so far it hasn’t disappointed.. just as funny and I’m dying to read more.

Monday 23 April 2018

23 Review Street Q&A with Steven Scaffardi

The Drought, Steven Scaffardi, Lad Lit
This author interview was originally posted on 23 Review Street on Sunday, May 1, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

Hi Steven! Thank you so much for being on 23 Review Street today and for asking me to take part in your Lad Lit Blog Tour. I am thrilled to be able to ask you questions about your books and about being a part of the genre Lad Lit. So let get down to the questions!

You have written two books so far, The Drought and The Flood. Could you summarise what they are about?
Hey, it’s great to be here! Thank you for having me. Both books are part of the Sex, Love & Dating Disaster series. The first book, The Drought, is the laugh-out-loud tale of one man's quest to overcome the throes of a sexual drought. After the stormy break-up with his girlfriend of three years, Dan Hilles is faced with the daunting task of throwing himself back into the life of a single man. With the help of his three best pals, Dan is desperate and determined to get his leg-over with hilarious consequences!

The Flood is the follow-up, but this time Dan has the opposite problem as he has too many women! After making a drunken bet with his three friends that he can date four women at the same time, his love life takes a rather complicated turn (especially when the four women he dates turn out to be a stalker, the office ice queen, his ex-girlfriend, and the one that got away).

There are more books being classed as Lad Lit now, what do you think makes a book part of the genre Lad Lit?
Lad lit is best known as the male equivalent of chick-lit, primarily written by men exploring relationships, emotions and day-to-day life experiences from the perspective of a male protagonist. Often told with humour, charm and wit, lad lit leaves many readers laughing out loud at the scenarios men get into.

Both The Drought and The Flood are part of the same series, do you have more planned for the future?
I certainly do! I’ve started working on some ideas for the third book in the series. The working title is The Pact and it follows Dan and his pals as they travel to Latvia in search of a girl that Dan’s best friend, Rob, dated. It’s a little bit different to the first two books, and is a bit of a tribute to The Bourbon Kid series of books in terms of the style and storyline. So far all I can say is that the boys get tangled up with a Russian mafia don, two karaoke loving corrupt cops, a pimp who is stuck in the 70s, two drag queens, a sleazy hotel boss and his weird wife, and a henchman known as Ray the Local. Watch this space!

I loved reading about Dan’s (the main character) love life and the troubles he experiences; do you have a particular favourite character to write about?
Jack is my favourite character. He is the best one to write because he knows no boundaries and always says and does the most outrageous things. He is full of one-liners and is a real cheeky-chappie. As part of the blog tour, Jack was recently interviewed. It’s been one of my favourite posts of the tour so far and you can read it here.

What would a day in a life of a Lad Lit writer be like?
I guess I can only speak for myself, but when I’m writing I try to spend 1-2 hours a day at the laptop. In terms of ideas, they come from everywhere – my own experiences, stories friends tell me, eavesdropping in on conversations on the train! I also find putting together a soundtrack for your book helps get the creative ideas flowing. I often go out jogging and play the ‘soundtrack’ to the book I’m currently working on and the ideas just start coming together. Other than that, you can normally find me playing with my daughter, who has recently just turned one, and is just about the cutest thing you have ever seen!

If you had to sum up your writing style in three words, what would they be?
Laugh out loud.

Thank you so much for joining me on 23 Review Street!
Thank you for having me!

Saturday 21 April 2018

"I almost dropped my Kindle in the bathtub while reading in there, because I was laughing so hard" - BCF Book Reviews reviews The Flood

The Flood, Steven Scaffardi, Lad Lit, Chick Lit,This book review was originally posted on BCF Book Reviews on Sunday, May 1, 2016 as part of the #LadLitBlogTour

4/5 Stars
I was fortunate enough to review the first book in this series, (The Drought) a few years back (you can see my review HERE) and found it pants-wettingly hilarious, so when I was offered the chance of reviewing the sequel, I grabbed it with both hands, expecting to once again bust a gut laughing.

I was not disappointed!

The Flood picks up where we left Dan and his pals. A spanner has been thrown in the works of Dan’s love life, and his friends, Rob, Jack and Ollie, are there to lend him a shoulder to cry on. Oh, wait, hang on, this is LAD LIT, not chick lit – the guys would laugh Dan out of the pub if he cried like a big girl! Instead they’re there to poke fun at his total lack of prowess with the ladies, and get him into situations he’d do far better staying well out of. But if Dan didn’t get into trouble, we wouldn’t have this gem of a comedy to amuse us, and that would be a crying shame!

The lads are fleshed out more roundly, and we see a little more of what makes them all tick. Jack was still incredibly annoying (I don’t know – maybe it’s a girl thing, but I wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole!), but I found Rob strangely attractive – is he showing a slightly more sensitive side? I’ll leave you to be the judge of that. And Ollie, well, even the thickest of mates can occasionally be the wisest and most astute, and his seemingly naive words, more often than not, provide the advice that helps Dan the most.

Then there’s the introduction of a new Welsh workmate who isn’t black enough, and an absolutely insane flatmate with a dog obsession that had me almost falling out of my chair. More than once, I snorted coffee out of my nose whilst reading this book, and on one occasion I almost dropped my Kindle in the bathtub while reading in there, because I was laughing so hard – I couldn’t put it down!

Seriously, whether or not you are a fan of lad lit, if you like a good laugh, this is the book for you. Just make sure you read The Drought first to really get the most out of this sequel, (you can get it FREE from Amazon until the end of Monday 2nd May – just click HERE) then continue Dan’s hapless adventures in dating with The Flood. Never has a reversal of fortunes been so funny!